Rafa Benitez planning to stay at Newcastle for ‘some years’

The 56-year-old Spaniard watched his team put in their best performance of the season on Tuesday, in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City, whilst the Magpies also excelled against Swansea last weekend.

Handed a three-year contract with a break clause included should he fail to drag the club back from the brink of relegation, Benitez has sparked hopes of survival, as they sit just two points behind Norwich City in 17th.

However, Benitez sounds keen to see out his contract, or even stay longer than the three contracted years.

Benitez said: “At the moment the fans here, we are in honeymoon, everything is fine and I am really pleased. Hopefully it can be the same for some years.”

The Spaniard returns to Anfield this weekend, taking his Newcastle team to a rejuvenated Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp appears to be bringing back some of the glory Benitez brought to Merseyside, where he was adored by the Anfield faithful.

And the 56-year-old has admitted he can see some similarities between Liverpool’s fans and the current Newcastle support.

“I see the similarities between the cities and the fans,” he added.

“It’s a city of workers, the fans support the team, they have passion, so they are very similar. That is good for me.

“I’ve been in Spain, I’ve been in Italy, but the experience of Liverpool was fantastic because the fans are behind you no matter what you do.